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CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, ITALY – MARCH 15: Giovanni Malago, President of the Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 delivers a speech during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games closing ceremony at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium on March 15, 2026 in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. (Photo by Mattia Ozbot/Getty Images)
Giovanni Malagò and Giancarlo Abete have now formally filed the necessary paperwork required to run for the FIGC Presidency ahead of the election to appoint a successor to Gabriele Gravina on June 22.
FIGC Presidential candidates now official
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The Italian football federation (FIGC) will hold an election to appoint a new President following the resignation of Gravina in the aftermath of Italy’s failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
It has widely been expected that Malagò, former President of the Italian Olympic committee (CONI) and Abete, current President of the amateur divisions (LND), would run for the FIGC Presidency, but their candidacies have only been formalised on Wednesday, the deadline for candidates to submit their proposals.
The FIGC will now have until May 22 to publish its formal acceptance of the two candidacies, but as per La Gazzetta dello Sport, this is just expected to be a formality. The election itself will take place on June 22.
As things stand, it is expected that Malagò will have a majority of votes in his favour. The former CONI chief already has the backing from the Lega Serie A, the players’ association and the coaches’ association, and on Tuesday evening, it was confirmed that he has the endorsement of the Lega Serie B as well.
Abete is the serving President of the LND and will have their backing. The LND will have a 34% share of the votes at the upcoming election.
Below is the share of votes that each body will have at the upcoming FIGC Presidential election:
Lega Serie A: 20 delegates, 18% of votes
Lega Serie B: 20 delegates, 6% of votes
Lega Pro (Serie C): 57 delegates, 12% of votes
LND (Amateur Leagues): 99 delegates, 34% of votes
Players’ association: 52 delegates, 20% of votes
Coaches’ association : 26 delegates, 10% of votes
ByPeter Young
Peter Young is a Senior Reporter with Football Italia.
